Lovely hotel, we were upgraded to here from the Sevilla (joke of a hotel) and stayed for 2 nights in June.

Great pools, lovely food and a hospitable atmosphere. The location isn’t great for exploring Old Havana and taxis in and out cost us around 20/25 CUC per day but the hotel itself makes up for this and the views of the sea and the garden are breathtaking.

Hi All,
I would just like to say that the Hotel Nacional is absolutely breathtaking! My girlfriend and I stayed there from the 10th through the 13th of June, and it was incredible. So many people complain about absolute rubbish and try and bring this hotel down, but I guarantee you that you will be absolutely impressed if you stay here. You could go to the pricier Parque Central, but we saw that hotel, and even went inside, and I must say that NOTHING in Havana spoke of History, Wealth and Class, like the Hotel Nacional!
We were given an amazing room on the top floor (8th) with a view of the sea! We had a king sized bed, and the entire room was old darkwood furnishings with rocking chairs and a fully stocked mini-bar (which I confirmed was not included). The elevators and doors were all old and original and made you feel really classy. The dining and lobby areas were immaculate and the food was excellent. The lobby spoke volumes of history and class, and the gardens and outdoor patio was something from a movie.
Please trust me when I say, if you are staying in Havana, do it at the Nacional. Also, the Parisiene Cabaret takes place right in the Hotel!!! We were going to do the Tropicana, but the Hotel tour desk had a special of....get this.... $35 CUC per person INCLUDING DINNER!!! It was amazing, the dancers and the show and the FOOD!!! We felt so safe in the area that we even walked to the Havana Libre Hotel, which is about 10 mins away, and went to a nice dance club that they have there at 10:30 at night. That was also fun. Also, the taxi into Old Havana was only 5 CUC and to the airport form the hotel we paid only 15 CUC total! Remember, you can always bargain with the taxis, he originally told me 19CUC, and I told him all I had was 15 and he said ok! Works with all of them, even the metered ones, as they will stop the meter at the agreed price.
All in all it was without a doubt an amazing and historic hotel. Oh, and be sure to do the tour, it is something nice to do on your last day as it is 2 hours from 10 - 12, and you get a great tour of the whole grounds and the nice little guide Estella will tell you about all the history of the hotel and all the famous guests. I know i;m rambling now but I have to tell you of the guest list.... Speilberg, Schwartzeneger, DiCaprio, Michael Moore, Naomi Campbell, Robert Redford, Jesse ventura, Sinatra had his honeymoon there....the list goes on and on.

Trust me....forget all those people who complain about this and that....you will NEVER regret a stay at this hotel.

Phillip

A great place to stay a hotel with history in abundance, great food in all the various restaurants, spacious and very clean rooms we found the staff extremely friendly and helpful. Go on a guided tour of this hotel and learn all about its history.

We enjoyed sitting overlooking the sea just sipping on our "Mojitos" and people watching, seeing the old cars chugging past, the Camel buses with all the people in waving at you and the sea cascading over the sea wall playing chicken with the passing cars.

Go to the front of the hotel and take a ride to old Havana in an opened top Chevy (and bata the price they will come down) or just outside the hotel grounds grab a COCO taxi they are just brilliant, sitting in the back being taken to old Havana the wind in your face and the black smoke spewing out the back of an old Caddilac as it bounces past you, smells a bit but fun.

Hotel sorely needs a massive refurb....it has fantastic potential but
it falls down in many areas